Legal Assistant

Mission Action • San Francisco, CA

19d • Onsite

About The Position

Dolores Street seeks a full-time, experienced legal assistant/paralegal to support attorneys in representing and providing legal assistance to low-income community members in removal proceedings. The Deportation Defense & Legal Advocacy Program has been a local leader in providing pro bono legal defense for individuals and families facing deportation since 2008. They use creative legal and advocacy strategies to challenge prolonged detention, constitutional violations, and other injustices in the immigration legal system. They represent individuals threatened with deportation through challenges to the charges of removability, as well as through applications for relief, including asylum, withholding of removal, relief under the Convention Against Torture, waivers of inadmissibility and deportability, and applications for U-visa, T-Visa, and VAWA relief.

Requirements

• Fluency in Spanish and excellent written and oral English skills are required
• Ability to work effectively and compassionately with survivors of trauma and clients with mental illness
• Commitment to immigrant rights, community empowerment, and providing culturally competent services
• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills, with superb attention to detail
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including professional phone manner
• Ability to collaborate and work within a team and independently to manage priorities, and prioritize workflow

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree preferred

Responsibilities

• Respond to calls, walk-ins, and correspondence from individuals seeking assistance or donations
• Scan DDLAP mail and direct to appropriate DDLAP staff
• Conduct intake and prepare non-complex DACA applications for DACA applicants under attorney or DOJ Accredited Representative supervision
• Coordinate and manage consultations and legal clinic schedule
• Meet with clients to conduct interviews, gather documents, complete immigration forms, and draft client statements for attorney review
• Translate documents and provide interpretation services for clients
• Occasionally deliver legal documents to various courts and government agencies in San Francisco
• Write correspondence to assist clients in obtaining records for their cases
• Manage and coordinate databases, case files, attorneys’ correspondence files
• Assist in the coordination and management of grant reporting, including data input and file management
• Assist the Program Director with check requests, invoices, supplies, reimbursements, and other administrative necessities
• Perform other special projects and other duties as assigned by Mission Action’s attorneys
• Participate in agency meetings, community activities, and trainings
• Engage in outreach, education, and advocacy in the area of immigrant rights on the local and state level
• Maintain and establish relationships with community partners and immigration service providers
• Conduct business in accordance with the Mission Action Employee Handbook, exercising sound judgment and serving the best interests of the agency and the community
• Work within the framework of the agency’s mission, vision, values, theory of change, and organization’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, restorative justice, trauma-informed work, and language justice
• Commit yourself to treating each community member with respect and dignity
• Perform other duties as assigned

Benefits

• medical
• dental
• vision
• long-term disability
• life insurance
• flexible spending account
• commuter benefits
• paid holiday
• paid sick leave
• generous vacation with Summer Recess and Winter Recess
• 401(K) with employer matching

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level